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Dave Askins

Dave Askins

Bloomington, Indiana

Dave Askins is editor and publisher of The B Square Bulletin. A Hoosier native with a background in math and linguistics, he previously co-founded the Ann Arbor Chronicle with his wife, Mary Morgan.

Monroe County turns map blue for COVID cases, but still in yellow advisory

Monroe County turns map blue for COVID cases, but still in yellow advisory

At their regular Wednesday meeting, Monroe County commissioners heard a bit of good news related to the COVID-19 pandemic. County health administrator Penny Caudill told them the 92 confirmed positive cases for the week ending on Sunday were low enough to put Monroe County in the blue category for

$500K in awards to social services nonprofits recommended by Bloomington committee

$500K in awards to social services nonprofits recommended by Bloomington committee

On Tuesday evening, members of a committee made up of Bloomington citizens and city councilmembers settled on preliminary awards of $511,000 to 32 different nonprofit organizations. The $511,000 had to be stretched across $546,793 in requests, which had been ratcheted down from the total of $648,197

Bloomington plan commission meets on Kmart redevelopment: “Yes, it’s better. But is it good?”

Bloomington plan commission meets on Kmart redevelopment: “Yes, it’s better. But is it good?”

At its regular monthly meeting on Monday, Bloomington’s plan commission voted to continue the proposed redevelopment of the Kmart property on East Third Street to its second hearing. That is now set for June 14. The outcome of Monday’s vote was not exactly hanging in the balance, because

Bloomington preps for annexation restart on May 19, will assume remonstrance waivers voided by state legislature are valid

Bloomington preps for annexation restart on May 19, will assume remonstrance waivers voided by state legislature are valid

At a work session held on Friday, Bloomington’s city council got a briefing from mayor John Hamilton’s administration on the restart of an annexation process that was launched in 2017. The process was stopped that year when the state legislature enacted a law that was found by Indiana’

COVID 19 Update: Local officials say, “We gotta get this vaccine rate up.”

COVID 19 Update: Local officials say, “We gotta get this vaccine rate up.”

As the prospect of achieving herd immunity against the COVID-19 virus could be waning, according to some experts, Bloomington and Monroe County area officials are trying to focus on getting local vaccination rates as high as possible. The confirmed daily positive case numbers in Monroe County have been vacillating

Duplexes get some “guardrails” from Bloomington city council, more could follow

Duplexes get some “guardrails” from Bloomington city council, more could follow

After voting unanimously the previous night to allow duplexes as a conditional use in Bloomington’s central residential districts, on Thursday Bloomington’s city council added some additional constraints on duplexes. The “guardrails” that are included in Amendment 03 to Ordinance 21-23 are meant to allay the concern that

On 9–0 vote Bloomington dials down duplexes from permitted to conditional use

On 9–0 vote Bloomington dials down duplexes from permitted to conditional use

Duplexes will not be a permitted (by-right) use in Bloomington’s central residential districts. But they will still be allowed, as a conditional use. That’s the outcome of Wednesday’s continuation of a city council special session that started on Tuesday. On Wednesday, councilmembers voted unanimously to amend